Nordonia Approves Soccer Deal

[ClevelandMark]

The board, by a 5-0 vote, accepted a compensation package in exchange for giving Wolstein Sports 100 percent property tax exemptions for as long as 30 years.

"We're one down, seven to go,'' Wolstein Sports partner Paul Garofolo said of the several steps the group must take.

Wolstein Sports must also secure agreements with the city, township, state, Summit County and the league, which has not yet awarded an outdoor soccer team here.

If Wolstein Sports is not successful in securing the public financing it wants by Dec. 31, the board would have to consider extending the agreement, Wright said. If the project falls through, the board gets nothing.

Wolstein Sports plans to seek funds from the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission and bonds from the county port authority. The stadium could open as early as 2008.


http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/14422369.htm

[Bill Archer]

Beat me to it.

This was the big hurdle. The Port Authority Bond issue is a no-brainer: it doesn't cost anyone anything. The Cultural Whatever funds are also pretty much in the bag because, as I understand it, this area has been way, way underfunded and it's an election year. They'd love to send up some dough out of a fund which, again, doesn't raise anyone's taxes.

Wolstein and Garolfolo have handled this brilliantly. Every step has been so incremental, and so taxpayer freindly.

That's why this one was critical: school taxpayers in Nordonia were the one group who could have killed this, but the Board can now point to all the shiny new athletic facilities Wolstein is buying for them with that $8 mil and point out, quite correctly, that the only way ot would have happened without the stadium would have been raising taxes.

Wolstein engineered a win-win on this one. Brilliant.

[Bill Archer]

This pice has some other details of the deal and why it's being done this way. Also explains that Wolstein is in a hurry and asked for immediate approval rather than wait another two weeks.

www.the-news-leader.com (http://www.the-news-leader.com)

Here's something else I've been meaning to post on, and as long as I'm here, I hope Cleveland Mark doesn't object to me including even if it's a bit off the target.

Here's a photo of the stadium site:

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/1764/location2copy8su.jpg

The people in the Hidden Lake development are the ones making the most noise about this. At that public meeting they were complaining about the stadium ruining their "view" (although to me when you buy a piece of property which overlooks a large, unzoned tract of land you don't get to complain. Would they like it better if someone put a paper mill there, or a foundry?)

Well, the State of Ohio has just announced a major two-phase construction project for this section of Ohio Rt. 8.

Essentially, they're going to widen Rt 8 to six lanes all the way from Akron (to the south) up to 271. To this end they're taking 30 feet from each side of the road. "A" is Wood's Garden Center, which is losing it's parking lot, which they're going to replace with a new one to the east. "B" is a place called The Tire Barn, which will have to be leveled.

But here's the kicker: They're going to eliminate access to Rt 8 from Twinsburg road. They're going to raise Rt 8 26 FEET and create an overpass.

The yellow north-south line to the right is where they're building a shiny new access road (no road exists there at the moment). It will connect Boston Mill Rd to the south with Hines rd to the north, which will be the only Rt 8 exits between 271 and Akron.

So now the residents of lovely Hidden Lake have a lot more than a stadium to overlook: they will now have a freakin 6 lane expressway blocking their view of the dreaded soccer complex.

The project will be let this fall, and construction will commence next Spring. Another lovely piece falls into place: all their access road problems are being solved courtesy of the State of Ohio, and since it's being done before any official stadium announcement, well, it's surely just coincidental that Wolstein owns 250 acres right next to the nice, shiny new road, right?

Watch these guys operate. They're spectacular.

[TheOtherBastard]

Great! Let's keep this thing moving!

[Blong]

www.the-news-leader.com (http://www.the-news-leader.com)



They are in a hurry. Oct 31 deadline to proceed with the project. Sounds like information will be coming out on a regular basis for the next 5 months.

[Joe Stoker]

Watch these guys operate. They're spectacular.

If you're buckin' for a job, Bill, I'll provide a sparkling reference.

Just stay clear of the kool-aid.:D

Seriously, great job here in making the Cleveland forum the most well-informed and factual of any specific cities.

What will Gabby do once our "guys" are officially loaded for bear? Interesting scenario developing if Cleveland holds the cards, and MLS starts (or continues?) bluffing.

[Bill Archer]

If you're buckin' for a job, Bill, I'll provide a sparkling reference.

Just stay clear of the kool-aid.:D

I'm not getting into their overall ethics, particularly their past soccer dealings.

But I have to admire guys who know what they're doing, particularly when they're pulling politicians' strings. Sort of like the Nazis: we can all agree they were depraved monsters, but damn they did a hell of a job on France.

Seriously, great job here in making the Cleveland forum the most well-informed and factual of any specific cities.

It's not me; the issue is that there IS factual information about Cleveland's bid.

I compare it with St Louis: Garber made some "not a bad guess" comment in response to a question one day and now they have dozens of little gerbils running around entertaining each other with debates over what suburb would be the best place for a stadium and pretending it's a serious discussion.

But there's no comparision. Cleveland has serious professional developers who've been putting this package together for four years and now appear to be clearing the final hurdles.

St Louis has - well, there's a report that a group of guys held some "discussions". Be still my beating heart.

What will Gabby do once our "guys" are officially loaded for bear? Interesting scenario developing if Cleveland holds the cards, and MLS keeps bluffing.

Spot on! The stage is being set for a monumental game of "who blinks first".

MLS is so used to dealing with clowns like Wilt, who'd crawl on his belly for a team, and the fakers and wannabes who have high hopes and hold press conferences but have no clue.

[ClevelandMark]

First, why would Hidden Lakes be the complex that is grumbling? It appears that the development just right of that bold yellow line would experience the most problem with the plan.

Second, Are you sure that the state is not going to install entrance/exit ramps at Twinsburg Road? I would think that Wolstein/Garafalo would argue for that direct access and maybe even help fund some of it.

[uclacarlos]

I'm not quite following the maneuverings of the potential owners.

So are you saying that they anticipated the clamouring from those homeowners and politicked their way to widening the freeway, creating an overpass, which will block their "view"... not the stadium??

And this public works project needs land that is (not so) coincidentally owned by Wolstein und Garafolo??

Two birds w/ one "unrelated" stone?

[Ruud Boy]

It didn't quite happen that way. The freeway widening was planned long before the soccer project was even a possibility. The homeowners carping was really a moot point. They were bound to have a freeway in their backyard. I guess they didn't want a freeway and a soccer stadium.

[Bill Archer]

First, why would Hidden Lakes be the complex that is grumbling? It appears that the development just right of that bold yellow line would experience the most problem with the plan.
From an aerial view, that would appear to be so.

But "Hidden Lake" is on a prominent hill. I'd guess the elevation is 20-30 feet. It drops quite sharply down to the highway. East of Rt 8 it's very flat, and parts of the stadium site are even rather swampy. Look closely and you can see the small creek, and the area in the middle of the site which is treeless is that way because the ground is so wet.

The people to the east of the yellow line are indeed closer, but those are very new entry level homes. Those folks may even be happy to be getting shopping and athletic fields within walking distance. And there's a substantial treed section between them and the stadium.

Hidden Lakes residents have much more serious gelt invested.

Second, Are you sure that the state is not going to install entrance/exit ramps at Twinsburg Road? I would think that Wolstein/Garafalo would argue for that direct access and maybe even help fund some of it.
Dead sure. I wish I could find the piece, but it was in the News Leader about a month ago and they don't seem to archive.

As for the rest, no, I don't think Wolstein was behind the highway project. Rt 8 widening is an ongoing issue, has been for years.

But the new road (yellow line) I think is not a state-mandated deal. I think that was an add-on.

[BulaJacket]

This pice has some other details of the deal and why it's being done this way. Also explains that Wolstein is in a hurry and asked for immediate approval rather than wait another two weeks.

www.the-news-leader.com (http://www.the-news-leader.com)
Thanks for the link.
I'm assuming you posted it like that, because the direct links expire quickly?

Just as a backup...
http://www.the-news-leader.com/article.php?pathToFile=/articles/news/&file=_news1.txt&article=1&tD

[BulaJacket]

Also...
Would someone be able to make a thread with the remaining hurdles (and any known dates), so we can sticky that @ the top of the forum? I'm a little out of tune with the happenings right now and will only be sporadically on BS for another couple of weeks.
Beat me to it.

This was the big hurdle. The Port Authority Bond issue is a no-brainer: it doesn't cost anyone anything. The Cultural Whatever funds are also pretty much in the bag because, as I understand it, this area has been way, way underfunded and it's an election year. They'd love to send up some dough out of a fund which, again, doesn't raise anyone's taxes.

Wolstein and Garolfolo have handled this brilliantly. Every step has been so incremental, and so taxpayer freindly.

That's why this one was critical: school taxpayers in Nordonia were the one group who could have killed this, but the Board can now point to all the shiny new athletic facilities Wolstein is buying for them with that $8 mil and point out, quite correctly, that the only way ot would have happened without the stadium would have been raising taxes.

Wolstein engineered a win-win on this one. Brilliant.
``We're one down, seven to go,'' Wolstein Sports partner Paul Garofolo said of the several steps the group must take.

Wolstein Sports must also secure agreements with the city, township, state, Summit County and the league, which has not yet awarded an outdoor soccer team here.
.
.
.
Sindelar said the Board would have preferred to have considered the issue at a regular meeting, but added the Board wants to accommodate the developers, who must still obtain agreements from other government agencies for various aspects of the project.

“Shooting for May 8 would have been too much of a delay,” she said.

According to Paul Garofolo, representing the Wolstein group, the development firm has an Oct. 31 deadline to proceed with the project.
The school district would receive the upfront payment, which would range from $6.7 million to $8.5 million, depending on the project's cost, at the time Wolstein Sports is issued bonds from the Summit County Port Authority. Securing those bonds is the final step for Wolstein, Garofolo said.
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.
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Wolstein Sports plans to seek funds from the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission and bonds from the county port authority. The stadium could open as early as 2008.
I see some of them from the post and the articles above, but not sure on the sequence either.

[BulaJacket]

Lastly, unrelated to the soccer stadium, but related to Wolstein...
Council approves Wolstein's Flats project
http://www.cleveland.com/economy/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1145954318127950.xml&coll=2

http://www.cleveland.com/images/hp/332/flats0425.jpg

http://www.cleveland.com/images/hp/150/flats.jpg

[ClevelandMark]

In a more unrelated story:

Developer Bob Stark (Crocker Park) unveiled his plans to remake the Warehouse district which adjoins Wolstein's Flats Project.

http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/business/114578156582040.xml?bxbiz&coll=2

http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/business/114578158582040.xml?bxbiz&coll=2

[ClevelandMark]

Dead sure. I wish I could find the piece, but it was in the News Leader about a month ago and they don't seem to archive.

As for the rest, no, I don't think Wolstein was behind the highway project. Rt 8 widening is an ongoing issue, has been for years.

But the new road (yellow line) I think is not a state-mandated deal. I think that was an add-on.

I did not understand, at first, that the solid yellow line was a planned access road. If so, it will definitely make travelling to the stadium a heck of a lot easier than the desolate backroads of Richfield Township made the Coliseum!

[Bill Archer]

Since I've already hopeleesly hijacked Cleveland Mark's thread - and kindly, he doesn't seem to mind too muc, which is very gracious of him - I thought I'd tack this on as well:

I've heard several references to the retail/hotel part of this project as being "similar to Legacy Village in Lyndhurst"

Like the song says "I've never been there but they tell me it's nice"

http://www.legacy-village.com/

I'd make it a point to stop by with Chuck, but unlike the stadium site and surrounding area, where he made several new friends, he wouldn't fit in up there very well. He's too laid back to deal with yuppies.


(And for Akron Soccer Fan: I'm certain you know what you're talking about with the Trustees: township government in Ohio tends to be provincial, ignorant, corrupt and amatuerish in the extreme. It's really an anachronism.

My point though was that the School District was key because there were millions of dollars at stake. They had legal right to demand full tax payments amounting to $2-3 million a year forever. Instead they agreed to a one-time $6-8 million bribe. Er, I mean "Payment in Lieu"

I don't think they'll be asking the toenship trustees for a dime. At some point they'll need some approvals of some kind I'm sure, and at that point the local goobers will likely try and raise a fuss; there's already some complaint that they "haven't been kept informed" on the deal, but I suspect the main reason for this is that WSEG just doesn't care much what they like or don't like since there's not really a lot they can do to stop them.

Either that or - perhaps more likely - they assume the trustees are going to be hostile to it anyway, since there's no money in it for them. I just don't think though that they can really do much to prevent this, since no re-zoning is apparently required, and normally that's the only hammer they have.

[TheOtherBastard]

Perhaps I'm just letting the possibilities just get to me. But do we know a timeframe on the next step?

Or better yet, how do we convince Wolstein or Garofolo to join BS and keep us informed? :rolleyes:

[ClevelandMark]

From the Nordonia Hills Sun

http://www.cleveland.com/sun/nordoniahillssun/index.ssf?/base/news-0/114615593567850.xml&coll=3

[westendlips]

Another article from the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/summit/114621392123960.xml&coll=2